Basmalah

Basmalah, also called Tasmiyah, in Islām, the formula-prayer: biʾsm Allāh ar-raḥmān ar-raḥīm, “in the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.” This invocation, which was first introduced by the Qurʾān, appears at the beginning of every Qurʾānic sūrah (chapter) except the ninth (which presents a unique textual problem) and is frequently recited by Muslims to elicit God’s blessings on their important actions. The basmalah also introduces all formal documents and transactions and must always preface actions that are legally required or recommended. An abbreviated version precedes certain daily rituals, such as meals. Magicians often use the basmalah in amulets, claiming that the prayer was inscribed in Adam’s side, Gabriel’s wing, Solomon’s seal, and Jesus Christ’s tongue.

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...of the affirmation that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger. For pious Muslims, every action is opened by an invocation of the divine name (basmalah). The formula inshāʾa Allāh, “if Allah wills,” appears frequently in daily speech. This formula is the...

Every surah but the ninth, which presents a unique textual problem, opens with the basmalah formula (“in the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful”) and is followed by numbered verses (āyahs). Written in prose, much of which is of a highly intense quality and is often rhymed, the individual āyahs, rather than the entire surah, are commonly...